Two bodies believed to belong to Miss Honduras 2014 and her sister have been found buried near the spa where they disappeared six days ago, the Honduras National Police director said Wednesday.

Authorities were awaiting confirmation from forensic officials that the victims are Maria Jose Alvarado, 19, and her sister, Sofia, 23, said Gen. Ramon Sabillon.

Sabillon said Sofia’s boyfriend, Plutarco Ruiz, confessed to killing the sisters and led authorities to the bodies buried in a river bank in a mountainous area of Santa Barbara, about 400 kilometres west of Tegucigalpa.

They were found near La Aguagua spa, where they had gone Thursday to celebrate Ruiz’s birthday.

Both women, who grew up in the area, were shot to death and appeared to have been killed the night they disappeared, Sabillon said.

“They were not very astute about assessing the people around them. They were just friendly,” the sisters’ mother, Teresa Munoz, told Televicentro. “They were taken out by people they hadn’t known very long.”

An alleged accomplice, Aris Maldonado, was also being held. Sabillon said the two men buried the bodies near the river in hopes that they would decompose quickly.

He said Ruiz apparently shot his girlfriend, Sofia, because she was dancing with another man. After a fierce argument, he pulled out a pistol and fired at Sofia first, then at Maria Jose as she tried to flee. The beauty queen was shot at least twice in the back, Sabillon said.

Munoz said Ruiz called her the following morning, acting nervous and claiming the young women had left the party in a car with some other people.

Maria Jose Alvarado was crowned Miss Honduras in April and was expected to compete in the Miss World Pageant in London next month. She was supposed to have left for London this week. A pageant representative said Honduras would not compete in the contest this year, given the tragedy.

“Ever since she was little she loved watching the beauty parades, and I always sat down with my three daughters to watch the competitions on television,” Maria’s mother said.

Honduras, overrun with streets gangs and drug trafficking, has the highest murder rate in the world for a country not at war, with an estimated 90 to 95 killings per 100,000 people. It is one of Latin America’s poorest countries and earlier this year was the main source of a surge in unaccompanied minors migrating to the United States, many to escape the violence.

AFP/Getty ImagesMaria Jose Alvarado, centre, was crowned Miss Honduras in April and was expected to compete in the Miss World Pageant in London next month.

Women and girls are increasingly fleeing Honduras and other Central American nations after being kidnapped or raped, with many of them seeking asylum in the United States.

AFP/Getty ImagesMiss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado.

Alvarado had also worked as a model on the game program “El Show X O da Dinero” of television personality and former presidential candidate Salvador Nasrallah. He said he was very saddened by the news.

“A lot of girls die this way, but because they’re not famous, it doesn’t get the attention and the crimes go unpunished,” Nasrallah said. “She was a girl of good principles who fell into a trap, a game with guns, and ended up a victim of a violent system.”

In the South American nation of Venezuela, which also suffers from high crime, a former Miss Venezuela and popular soap-opera actress, Monica Spear, was killed along with her husband during a robbery in January while she was visiting her homeland.

Beauty queens are very popular in many parts of Latin America, where they are viewed as celebrities and often go on to become entertainers.

In 2009, when PEN International, the worldwide association of writers, launched a campaign to highlight the dangers faced by journalists in the Americas, Honduras wasn’t a primary concern. It wasn’t a place where reporters routinely faced threats, attacks or death for covering sensitive stories. Five years and dozens of murders later, that is no longer true. Today, Honduran journalists work in constant fear.

“Assassins come in the form of two men on a motorcycle,” says one broadcast journalist, “one is fine; two means death.”

A sobering report released today by PEN International, PEN Canada and the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law details how the violence that has gripped Honduras since the ouster of President Jose Manuel Zelaya in June, 2009, has resulted in serious restrictions on freedom of expression. Honduras: Journalism in the Shadow of Impunity finds that threats to journalists are rarely investigated or punished, and that these failures in accountability are of a piece with the country’s larger struggle to address weak institutions and widespread corruption.

Since 2003, 38 journalists have been killed, with accountability in only two of those cases. Most of the lethal violence has focused on radio and television reporters — journalists whose voices and faces are known to the public, and whose deaths are more likely to be noticed, to create a climate of fear.

The sources of this violence are varied, and often involve the transnational drug cartels that have infiltrated Central America in recent years. But violence is produced by the state, too, most notably by a corrupt police force. Successive failures to reform key institutions and to purge the police force have undermined most efforts to tackle the crisis of impunity. Attempts by international bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protect journalists via “precautionary measures” directed at the government of Honduras have met with little success.

Journalists have learned to steer clear of sensitive topics such as corruption and drug trafficking. This has distorted the role of the press in much the same way that similar violence silenced my colleagues in Mexico, where attacks against journalists that originate with the state, or organized crime groups, are becoming the rule rather than the exception.

‘Assassins come in the form of two men on a motorcycle,’ says one broadcaster. ‘One is fine; two means death’

In 2013, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Mexico’s impunity rate for violence against journalists was one of the highest in the world. Despite the government’s triumphalism about crime reduction, press freedom is still under siege in the northern state of Tamaulipas, where after seven years of armed conflict, self-censorship is rife among local journalists due to the fear of assassination. Though crimes against reporters were made a federal offence in 2012, this legislation was passed without accompanying resources for effective enforcement.

Some of Honduras’ systemic flaws seem obvious enough: In 2012, the 16 prosecutors at the understaffed and underfunded Special Prosecutor for Human Rights were “nominally responsible” for 7,000 cases. On the other hand, there are several agencies whose overlapping responsibilities have created a situation where institutional responsibility “has been so widely diffused that no one is ultimately accountable.” Some of these problems could be solved with better funding and limited institutional reforms. Greater transparency about current investigations into the cases of murdered journalists, for example, would be a helpful start.

Canada has important economic and political ties to Honduras. In November 2013, Canada and Honduras signed a free-trade agreement, and Canada provides significant monetary and technical assistance to Honduras every year. We have a valuable role to play in calling for greater accountability for human rights violations in Honduras, and for the protection of freedom of expression and working journalists.

When President Juan Orlando Hernandez takes office on Jan. 27, the Canadian government should make clear that we stand in support of at-risk journalists and activists, and all those who no longer wish to see the crimes of the past translated into the crimes of the future.

National Post

Luis Horacio Nájera is a Mexican journalist who came to Canada as a refugee in 2008. In 2010, he received the International Press Freedom Award from the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. He is currently a masters student at the Munk School of Global Affairs.

Paul Romer imagines a kind of private micro-state, a “charter city” built on unused land, donated from a country that wants to stimulate economic growth. It needn’t be a place mired in poverty and corruption and unable to find its way out, such as Honduras, where the charter city idea has recently found support — and competition. A professor of economics at New York University, Prof. Romer thinks the concept could be adopted in advanced countries, too, such as Canada.

He imagines a tax-free, special reform zone that would attract millions of opportunity-seekers from the developing world. Most would be employed in factories, at least initially. Everyone would receive basic services and enjoy universal rights and freedoms. All infrastructure — including schools and hospitals — would be owned and operated by private investors and developers.

The charter city concept has critics, of course; some think Prof. Romer is promoting a sort of modern slavery outpost, a neocolonial, razor-wired port of convenience. He’s not suggesting anything like that. What he imagines is a semi-autonomous place ruled by law, where normative values take root and growth takes off. Think Hong Kong, Prof. Romer says, or Shenzhen, the special economic zone established two decades ago in China, but without the same restrictions imposed by an all-powerful yet distant authority.

Prof. Romer says he decided to turn his “thought experiment” into a practical strategy about five years ago. “I started going public about this idea,” he said in an interview from New York, “hoping that I would be approached by government officials. And that is indeed what happened.”

Two years ago, Honduras called. A new government led by President Porfirio Lobo Sosa had identified for development a large parcel of mostly uninhabited land on the country’s Caribbean coast. Working with Prof. Romer, the land was classified as a Region Especial de Desarrollo (RED), and efforts began to create a legal framework under which a charter city could advance.

Prof. Romer was soon made chairman of a “transparency commission,” a quasi-judicial body meant to provide independent oversight and protect the integrity of the set-up process and RED functions. President Sosa signed a decree recognizing the commission, but that was later challenged in Honduras’ Supreme Court and was never formalized.

Missing from the equation were investors. Prof. Romer and the Hondurans have envisioned a special city of 10 million; building from scratch the requisite infrastructure — including a seaport — would cost many billions. The plan is to create mass employment by building textile factories. But additional capital is needed to do that.

Prof. Romer was in Ottawa earlier this year, promoting the Honduran RED and suggesting that Canadians get involved. “I’ve always felt that Canada could be very helpful in kind of a guarantor role, or what I’ve described more recently as an exporter of government services,” he told the National Post last week.

Since that trip, the Honduran initiative has been compromised, he says, thanks to interference from competing interests within the Central American republic itself and in the United States. An obscure company called MKG Group, led by American entrepreneur Michael Strong, signed a formal investment pact with the Honduran government in September. MKG pledged to immediately spend US$14-million on the first phase of a new charter city, again on the country’s Caribbean coast.

Pushed to the sidelines, Prof. Romer and his fellow transparency commission members resigned en masse. He claims the MKG group is “not really very serious. They are kind of a nuisance and a distraction. [But] there is something deeper that was going on in the Honduras government … the usual corporate, autocratic interests that are interested in exploiting it. There were lots of players that are trying to take advantage.”

The New York Times described the situation best, in a story published in October. “An internal contradiction in the theory is playing out: To set new city with clear new rules, you must first deal with governments that are trapped in the old ones.”

The Hondurans have said that Prof. Romer is still welcome to provide RED oversight, but he doesn’t seem interested. He says he’s now “talking to other governments around the world, looking for places to push this idea forward.”

There remains a role for Canada and charter cities, he thinks. “Canada might be able to establish good governance on land in another host country,” Prof. Romer says. “The more interesting question is whether we could do this inside Canada itself.”

That, he knows, would be a huge challenge. “It would be a very difficult sell, politically. A new charter city would have different laws [than the rest of the country]. People coming in would have residency rights but not citizenship. And many Canadians might be uncomfortable with 10 million immigrants suddenly moving” to a special economic zone, he says.

But without question, many newcomers would prove to be exceptionally skilled, motivated to contribute, prepared to adapt. “There might be a relatively easy transition where the most desirable ones become full Canadians citizens,” says Prof. Romer. “If we think creatively about this, there could be some opportunities.”

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/27/year-in-ideas-professor-touts-special-economic-zones-known-as-charter-cities/feed/2stdPaul Romer, an economics professor at New York University, imagines a kind of private micro-state, a “charter city” built on unused land, donated from a country that wants to stimulate economic growth.B.C. man shot and killed in late night bar robbery while on vacation in Hondurashttp://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/19/b-c-man-shot-and-killed-while-on-holiday-in-honduras/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/19/b-c-man-shot-and-killed-while-on-holiday-in-honduras/#commentsFri, 19 Oct 2012 12:13:36 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=223435

A Canadian man has been shot and killed while on vacation in Honduras during a late night bar robbery.

Honduran media say 34-year-old Tim Vallée was robbed of his belongings by two men and then shot as he left a bar with four people on the island of Roatan off the Honduran coast.

Vallée was an employee of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans based in British Columbia.

“On behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, we would like to convey our sincerest condolences to Tim’s family,” said DFO spokesman Tom Robbins in an email. “Our thoughts are with them in what we know must be a very difficult time.”

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada is confirming a Canadian has died in Honduras, but says it will not comment further on the case due to privacy concerns.

“Canadian government officials are providing consular assistance to the family and are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information,” spokeswoman Chrystiane Roy said.

“To protect the privacy of the individual concerned, further details on this case cannot be released.”

One of the suspects has since been arrested and is identified in Honduran media as a local resident, 27-year-old Eon Stuart Carter.

Efforts continue to find the second suspect in Wednesday’s shooting.

The foreign affairs website advises Canadian travellers to exercise a “high degree of caution in [Honduras] due to an increase in violent crime.”

TORONTO • After Canada’s men’s soccer team overcame the scorching heat and spotty field to upset Cuba on foreign soil last Friday, coach Stephen Hart allowed his players a brief time to revel in the result.

Then they promptly filed those feelings away.

Canada hosts Honduras on Tuesday in the second game of the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Another victory would give Canada six points and some considerable breathing room heading into a two-month break.

“[I told them] the usual stuff, enjoy the moment for a couple of hours and then understand that you’ve achieved nothing, we’ve achieved nothing,” Hart said after practice Monday at BMO Field.

Related

The 77th-ranked Canadians defeated Cuba 1-0 on Friday, while No. 46 Panama defeated 55th-ranked Honduras 2-0 in the other game in the group.

After Tuesday’s matchup, the national side, gunning to make its first World Cup appearance since 1986, takes a break before picking up World Cup qualifying again in September.

“It’s going to be massive for us, we don’t want to go into the next two months with any regrets of what could have been if we’d won maximum points,” said David Edgar, whose well-placed cross led to Olivier Occean’s goal versus Cuba.

The Canadians played through soaring heat on Friday that left Hart joking that he just hoped his players “didn’t die.” They also played a man short after goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld was shown a red card for handling the ball outside of the box.

Milan Borjan played well as Hirschfeld’s replacement, immediately facing a dangerous free kick.

“It was difficult because I didn’t warm up or anything, it was a tough situation to come in on, winning 1-0, a free kick on the 18-yard-box … ,” Borjan said. “But the guys gave me the confidence, the coaches they gave me confidence, so it was good.”

He will be Canada’s netminder against Honduras while Hirschfeld serves a one-game suspension.

Hart said he has faith in whichever Canadian ’keeper he has in net, saying there’s little difference between the two.

“The players wouldn’t be picked if I didn’t think they could do the job,” Hart said.

Borjan and his teammates made a plea to fans Monday that has become an all-too-familiar refrain — come out and cheer them on. International games in this multicultural city see crowds often lopsided in favour of visiting teams, and Borjan hopes to see a sea of red rather than the blue and white cheering on Los Catrachos.

“It’s very important, and it’s not just me, it’s the whole team,” said Borjan, who made his Canadian team debut in February of last year. “We need all the supporters to come to the field, when people are cheering for you it gives you so much confidence, so I hope I see a full field Tuesday.”

The top two teams in the group will advance to the final round of qualifying in the CONCACAF region, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Canada will travel to Panama and Honduras in the fall. The Canadians host Panama on Sept. 7 and Cuba on Oct. 12.

TORONTO • After Canada’s men’s soccer team overcame the scorching heat and spotty field to upset Cuba on foreign soil last Friday, coach Stephen Hart allowed his players a brief time to revel in the result.

Then they promptly filed those feelings away.

Canada hosts Honduras on Tuesday in the second game of the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Another victory would give Canada six points and some considerable breathing room heading into a two-month break.

“[I told them] the usual stuff, enjoy the moment for a couple of hours and then understand that you’ve achieved nothing, we’ve achieved nothing,” Hart said after practice Monday at BMO Field.

Related

The 77th-ranked Canadians defeated Cuba 1-0 on Friday, while No. 46 Panama defeated 55th-ranked Honduras 2-0 in the other game in the group.

After Tuesday’s matchup, the national side, gunning to make its first World Cup appearance since 1986, takes a break before picking up World Cup qualifying again in September.

“It’s going to be massive for us, we don’t want to go into the next two months with any regrets of what could have been if we’d won maximum points,” said David Edgar, whose well-placed cross led to Olivier Occean’s goal versus Cuba.

The Canadians played through soaring heat on Friday that left Hart joking that he just hoped his players “didn’t die.” They also played a man short after goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld was shown a red card for handling the ball outside of the box.

Milan Borjan played well as Hirschfeld’s replacement, immediately facing a dangerous free kick.

“It was difficult because I didn’t warm up or anything, it was a tough situation to come in on, winning 1-0, a free kick on the 18-yard-box … ,” Borjan said. “But the guys gave me the confidence, the coaches they gave me confidence, so it was good.”

He will be Canada’s netminder against Honduras while Hirschfeld serves a one-game suspension.

Hart said he has faith in whichever Canadian ’keeper he has in net, saying there’s little difference between the two.

“The players wouldn’t be picked if I didn’t think they could do the job,” Hart said.

Borjan and his teammates made a plea to fans Monday that has become an all-too-familiar refrain — come out and cheer them on. International games in this multicultural city see crowds often lopsided in favour of visiting teams, and Borjan hopes to see a sea of red rather than the blue and white cheering on Los Catrachos.

“It’s very important, and it’s not just me, it’s the whole team,” said Borjan, who made his Canadian team debut in February of last year. “We need all the supporters to come to the field, when people are cheering for you it gives you so much confidence, so I hope I see a full field Tuesday.”

The top two teams in the group will advance to the final round of qualifying in the CONCACAF region, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Canada will travel to Panama and Honduras in the fall. The Canadians host Panama on Sept. 7 and Cuba on Oct. 12.

TORONTO • After Canada’s men’s soccer team overcame the scorching heat and spotty field to upset Cuba on foreign soil last Friday, coach Stephen Hart allowed his players a brief time to revel in the result.

Then they promptly filed those feelings away.

Canada hosts Honduras on Tuesday in the second game of the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Another victory would give Canada six points and some considerable breathing room heading into a two-month break.

“[I told them] the usual stuff, enjoy the moment for a couple of hours and then understand that you’ve achieved nothing, we’ve achieved nothing,” Hart said after practice Monday at BMO Field.

Related

The 77th-ranked Canadians defeated Cuba 1-0 on Friday, while No. 46 Panama defeated 55th-ranked Honduras 2-0 in the other game in the group.

After Tuesday’s matchup, the national side, gunning to make its first World Cup appearance since 1986, takes a break before picking up World Cup qualifying again in September.

“It’s going to be massive for us, we don’t want to go into the next two months with any regrets of what could have been if we’d won maximum points,” said David Edgar, whose well-placed cross led to Olivier Occean’s goal versus Cuba.

The Canadians played through soaring heat on Friday that left Hart joking that he just hoped his players “didn’t die.” They also played a man short after goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld was shown a red card for handling the ball outside of the box.

Milan Borjan played well as Hirschfeld’s replacement, immediately facing a dangerous free kick.

“It was difficult because I didn’t warm up or anything, it was a tough situation to come in on, winning 1-0, a free kick on the 18-yard-box … ,” Borjan said. “But the guys gave me the confidence, the coaches they gave me confidence, so it was good.”

He will be Canada’s netminder against Honduras while Hirschfeld serves a one-game suspension.

Hart said he has faith in whichever Canadian ’keeper he has in net, saying there’s little difference between the two.

“The players wouldn’t be picked if I didn’t think they could do the job,” Hart said.

Borjan and his teammates made a plea to fans Monday that has become an all-too-familiar refrain — come out and cheer them on. International games in this multicultural city see crowds often lopsided in favour of visiting teams, and Borjan hopes to see a sea of red rather than the blue and white cheering on Los Catrachos.

“It’s very important, and it’s not just me, it’s the whole team,” said Borjan, who made his Canadian team debut in February of last year. “We need all the supporters to come to the field, when people are cheering for you it gives you so much confidence, so I hope I see a full field Tuesday.”

The top two teams in the group will advance to the final round of qualifying in the CONCACAF region, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Canada will travel to Panama and Honduras in the fall. The Canadians host Panama on Sept. 7 and Cuba on Oct. 12.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/12/canadas-qualifying-match-against-honduras-massive-for-us/feed/0stdThe 77th-ranked Canadians defeated Cuba 1-0 on Friday, while No. 46 Panama defeated 55th-ranked Honduras 2-0 in the other game in the group.Many prisoners who burned to death in Honduras blaze were never convicted of a crimehttp://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/16/many-prisoners-who-burned-to-death-in-honduras-blaze-were-never-convicted-of-a-crime/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/16/many-prisoners-who-burned-to-death-in-honduras-blaze-were-never-convicted-of-a-crime/#commentsThu, 16 Feb 2012 19:44:29 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=141796

Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty ImagesAn inmate injured in the blaze in the National Prison rests at hospital in Comayagua, 90 km north of Tegucigalpa, on February 16, 2012.

By Ioan Grillo and Mike McDonald

COMAYAGUA, Honduras — Survivors of a Honduran jailhouse fire that killed more than 350 inmates accused prison guards of leaving prisoners to die trapped inside their cells and even firing on others when they tried to escape.

As torched bodies were pulled out of the prison complex on Thursday, relatives of victims, survivors and experts said massive overcrowding, guards’ negligence and a failed justice system were to blame for the disaster, which killed many inmates who had not even been convicted.

Unable to escape the inferno that tore through Comayagua National Penitentiary on Tuesday night, prisoners died screaming in vain to be let out of their cells.

Rosendo Sanchez, a convicted murderer serving a 10-year sentence, awoke as the blaze started. He escaped his building and says he saw guards firing at other inmates trying to escape.

“It was hell here, seeing your friends, people you have known well burn alive,” he said, noting that the fire brigade did not come into the prison for more than half an hour.

The local government said the fire — one of the worst prison blazes in history — was apparently started by an inmate but some victims’ relatives said the government had been grossly negligent or had even planned the blaze.

Related

Some of the 850 or so inmates of the overcrowded jail managed to force their way to safety through the tin roofs of the prison, a dark maze-like structure with narrow open-air hallways lined with white and blue brick walls.

But 359 of the prisoners never found their way out, according to the attorney general’s office.

Claudio Saenz, a social worker who has been visiting the jail for 10 years, said the dead included people who were not even given a proper trial.

“Many were not convicted and have been here two or three years and they were not able to be released because the Honduran justice system is really slow,” he said.

Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty ImagesSoldiers load a trailer truck with corpses at the National Prison in Comayagua, 90 km north of Tegucigalpa, on February 15, 2012.

PEELING ORANGES

Outside the prison, Iris Molina pleaded desperately with a guard for news of her son Milton, a 28-year-old inmate who she had not heard of since the blaze.

“I just want information but I can’t get any,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks onto her pink blouse. “I was here yesterday with my daughter and everyone was angry. I’m not angry, I just want to know what happened to my son.”

Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty ImagesHonduran forensic workers and soldiers remove corpses in plastic bags from the National Prison in Comayagua, some 90 km north of Tegucigalpa, on February 15, 2012.

Condemnation of the prison authorities spread as far as the local fire brigade chief, who said they had stopped his crews from entering the burning prison for half an hour.

“These people in the prisons have their protocols, and while these are going on, they don’t let anybody in,” Jaime Omar Silva told the El Tiempo newspaper.

Throughout the night, groups of police and soldiers dragged out the charred remains of convicts in black body bags, hurling them onto a pile outside, and landing with heavy thuds.

“The corpses are charred and some of them are stuck on top of each other,” said Johnny Ordenez, a Honduran soldier lugging the dead. “You have to peel them apart like an orange.”

Honduras is the most murderous country on the planet, ravaged by violent street gangs, rampant police corruption, dysfunctional courts and drug trafficking cartels.

Inside the gutted prison complex, the smell of charred flesh hung heavily in the air on Wednesday night.

One scorched cadaver lay face down on the floor, both legs pulled up close to the fetal position, with its arm outstretched into the corner of the cell. Two police and a soldier arrived to drag it away, to place it in the heap of bodies.

Around a third of the prison was destroyed by the flames. Some inmates were rushed to the hospital with serious burns but those who survived slept in the undamaged cell blocks.

Jorge Dan Lopez/REUTERSForensic technicians, soldiers and Red Cross workers stand near body bags holding the bodies of dead inmates at a jail in Comayagua, about 75 km (45 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa, February 15, 2012.

IMPOSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY

On Thursday morning, a few remaining bereaved family members lingered around the prison trying to get information .

Loaded up onto trailers, the dead were sent to a morgue in Tegucigalpa, where around 200 relatives set up tents to prepare for a long wait.

“In some cases it will be impossible to identify them because they are completely burned,” said an official at the attorney general’s office, Danelia Ferrera.

Forensic experts asked family members to identify any distinguishing characteristics of their next of kin, like tattoos or birthmarks, in the hopes of speeding up the process.

Officials now say they have pulled 355 bodies from the jail where the 852 prisoners were housed – packed way over capacity.

The provincial governor said the blaze was apparently caused by a prisoner lighting his mattress. It was not clear why the inmate would have started the fire.

Racked by gang violence, drug cartels and poverty, Honduras has struggled to maintain law and order since a coup in 2009 divided the already troubled Central American nation.

At more than 80 homicides per 100,000 people in 2009, Honduras’ murder rate is 16 times that of the United States, according to a U.N. study.

The degree of slaughter in Comayagua has thrown the country’s problems into sharp relief, said Dana Frank, an expert on Honduras at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “We’re talking about a total breakdown of the state.”

Jorge Dan Lopez/REUTERSFamily members of the inmates who died during a massive fire in the jail of Comayagua, about 75 km (45 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa, wait outside the morgue for news of the bodies in Tegucigalpa February 16, 2012.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/16/many-prisoners-who-burned-to-death-in-honduras-blaze-were-never-convicted-of-a-crime/feed/2stdInmates, who survived a prison fire, sit in the prison in Comayagua, February 15, 2012. A massive fire raged through the overcrowded prison in Honduras, killing more than 350 inmates, many of them trapped and screaming inside their cells.An inmate injured in the blaze in the National Prison rests at hospital in Comayagua, 90 km north of Tegucigalpa, on February 16, 2012. Soldiers load a trailer truck with corpses at the National Prison in Comayagua, 90 km north of Tegucigalpa, on February 15, 2012.Honduran forensic workers and soldiers remove corpses in plastic bags from the National Prison in Comayagua, some 90 km north of Tegucigalpa, on February 15, 2012.Forensic technicians, soldiers and Red Cross workers stand near body bags holding the bodies of dead inmates at a jail in Comayagua, about 75 km (45 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa, February 15, 2012.Family members of the inmates who died during a massive fire in the jail of Comayagua, about 75 km (45 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa, wait outside the morgue for news of the bodies in Tegucigalpa February 16, 2012.Honduras prison fire: Pictures of chaos, heartbreak and utter destruction as hundreds die in blazehttp://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/15/honduras-prison-fire-photos-of-the-disaster-that-killed-at-least-272-inmates/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/15/honduras-prison-fire-photos-of-the-disaster-that-killed-at-least-272-inmates/#commentsWed, 15 Feb 2012 17:56:48 +0000http://nationalpostnews.wordpress.com/?p=141225

A massive fire swept through an overcrowded prison in Honduras and killed more than 350 inmates, many of them trapped and screaming inside their cells.

A senior official at the attorney general’s office, Danelia Ferrera, said 357 people died in the blaze that began late on Tuesday night at the prison in Comayagua, about 75 km (45 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa.

STR/AFP/Getty ImagesCharred bodies lie inside a cell of the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras, on February 15, 2012.

“It’s a terrible scene … Our staff went into the cells and the bodies are charred, most of them are unrecognizable,” Ferrera told Reuters, adding that officials would have to use dental records and DNA in many cases to identify those killed.

It was one of the worst prison fires ever in Latin America.

“We heard screaming from the people who caught on fire,” one prisoner told reporters, showing the fingers he fractured in his escape from the fire. “We had to push up the roof panels to get out.”

Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, according to the United Nations, and there are frequent riots and clashes between rival street gangs in its cramped prisons.

But it was not yet clear if the prison fire was started during a riot or if it was an accident.

Worried and angry relatives surrounded the prison on Wednesday morning, at one point throwing rocks at police and trying to force their way inside the prison.

Police responded by firing shots into the air and shooting tear gas at protesters, most of whom were women.

President Porfirio Lobo said he suspended the director of the Comayagua prison and the head of the national prison system to ensure a thorough investigation.

He promised to “take urgent measures to deal with this tragedy, which has plunged all Hondurans into mourning”.

There was confusion over the death toll, with some reports that more than 100 inmates had escaped and could have been mistakenly counted among the dead and others that the dead and missing totaled 402 people – almost half the prison’s inmates.

Lucy Marder, head of forensic services in Comayagua, said police reported that one of the dead was a woman who had stayed overnight at the prison and the rest were inmates, but she said some of the presumed dead could have escaped.

Local media reported that the Comayagua fire department chief also died in the blaze. (Reuters)

REUTERS/StringerA wounded man is carried on a stretcher at Escuela hospital in the capital Tegucigalpa, after a blaze that began late on Tuesday night at a prison in Comayagua, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) north of the capital, February 15, 2012.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesA surviving inmate is evacuated from the compound at the National Prison of Comayagua.

REUTERS/StringerA man injured in a fire is carried by medical personnel in Comayagua.

STR/AFP/Getty ImagesPartial view of a burnt cell at the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras, on February 15, 2012.

REUTERS/StringerAn inmate reacts while standing next to another inmate and a police officer outside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesRelatives of inmates awaiting outside the perimeter fence throw stones at soldiers and policemen on guard, who fire warning shots into the air, at the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesA woman cries as she is told about the death of her son, who was jailed at the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesRelatives of inmates awaiting outside the perimeter fence throw stones at soldiers on guard at the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesFire engines stand by to enter the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesAn official reads a list of inmates deceased to a crowd of relatives gathering outsude the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras, on February 15, 2012.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesRelatives of inmates await outside the National Prison of Comayagua compound in Comayagua, Honduras.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesA relative of an inmate cries as she waits outside the National Prison of Comayagua where around 200 prisioners were killed and scores injured when fire tore through the prison in central Honduras.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesRelatives of inmates cry outside the National Prison of Comayagua where around 300 prisioners were killed and scores injured when fire tore through the prison.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesForensic personnel remove the corpse of one of the inmates of by the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras, on February 15, 2012.

STR/AFP/Getty ImagesGeneral view inside the burnt National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras, on February 15, 2012, where almost 300 prisioners were killed and scores injured when a fire overnight tore through the prison in central Honduras.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesA woman cries outside the National Prison compound in Comayagua, on February 15, 2012, following a fire overnight which tore through the prison in central Honduras.

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]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/15/honduras-prison-fire-photos-of-the-disaster-that-killed-at-least-272-inmates/feed/6galleryToday's letters: Look beyond the short skirts at Sun TVwarnA wounded man is carried on a stretcher at Escuela hospital in Tegucigalpajeffisgr8t-1113544A man injured in a fire is carried by medical personnel in Comayaguajeffisgr8t-2114047An inmate reacts while standing next to another inmate and a police officer outside the prison in Comayaguajeffisgr8t-9113545jeffisgr8t-8113545jeffisgr8t-7113545jeffisgr8t-6113545jeffisgr8t-5113545jeffisgr8t-4113544jeffisgr8t-3113544jeffisgr8t-2113544508896398508900986508900896Honduras prison fire kills hundreds after inmates are left trapped and ‘screaming’ in their cellshttp://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/15/hundreds-of-prisoners-die-in-massive-honduras-prison-fire/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/15/hundreds-of-prisoners-die-in-massive-honduras-prison-fire/#commentsWed, 15 Feb 2012 14:06:15 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=141086

TEGUCIGALPA — More than 350 convicts died screaming and spluttering when a huge fire ripped through a prison in Honduras, reducing large swathes of the complex to a blackened husk.

Choked by smoke and scorched by flames, hundreds of inmates scrambled to escape with their lives after an inmate apparently set fire to the overcrowded prison in Comayagua, about 75 km north of the capital Tegucigalpa on Tuesday night.

But 359 people were unable to get out and perished in the blaze, the attorney general’s office said. It was one of the worst prison fires in history, a grim new milestone for a country the United Nations says is already the most murderous on the planet.

“It’s a terrible scene … Our staff went into the cells and the bodies are charred, most of them are unrecognizable,” said Danelia Ferrera, a senior official at the attorney general’s office.

Officials said they would need to use dental records and DNA to identify them.

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“We heard screaming from the people who caught on fire,” one prisoner told reporters, showing the fingers he fractured in his escape from the fire. “We had to push up the roof panels to get out.”

The director of the Organization of American States said Wednesday he was sending a delegation to Honduras to investigate the cause of the fire.

Jose Miguel Insulza expressed dismay over the deadly blaze, the worst at any prison in the world in the past decade, as he launched an OAS probe into the “dramatic events” at the overcrowded prison in central Honduras.

Survivors described wrenching scenes of inmates clutching each other in desperation while being engulfed by choking smoke and flames, in what is the world’s deadliest prison blaze in a decade.

“They tried to save themselves by hurling themselves into the shower, sinks” and any other source of water they could find, one survivor said.

“We are pulling out bodies,” said prisons director Danilo Orellana about the fire in the country’s overcrowded prison system that also left score of inmates injured.

“The situation is serious. Most have suffocated,” Orellana said of the fatalities, adding that the fire did not appear to have been caused by a riot.

Radio reports said the dead and missing totalled 402 people — almost half the prison’s inmates.

Lucy Marder, head of forensic services in Comayagua, said police reported that one of the dead was a woman who stayed overnight and the rest were prisoners, but she said some of the presumed dead could have escaped.

Local media reported that the Comayagua fire department chief also died in the blaze..

Witnesses said some of the inmates escaped the blaze by jumping from the prison rooftop, and there were reports that some of them had fled the facility and were on the loose.

President Porfirio Lobo announced he was suspending the officials who ran the prison while an investigation was underway into what caused the blaze, which he called “a lamentable and unacceptable tragedy.”

Photos published by local media showed grisly images of charred bodies scattered throughout the corridors of the fire-ravaged facility.

Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, according to the United Nations, and there are frequent riots and clashes between members of rival street gangs in its overcrowded prisons.

The gangs, known as “maras,” started in the United States and then spread down into Central America, with members covered in distinctive tattoos and involved in drug trafficking, armed robbery and protection rackets.

Soldiers, police and anxious relatives surrounded the Comayagua prison on Wednesday morning and television images showed weeping relatives pressed against a chain link fence as they waited for news.

They clashed with police and then stormed into a prison.

An AFP correspondent witnessed men, women and children rushing through the gates of the prison in Comayagua when police withdrew after failing to contain the crowd of rock-throwing family members, who gathered at the facility hours after a huge fire roared through the cells, asphyxiating many prisoners.

The prison housed more than 800 inmates — well above its capacity.

The country’s 24 overcrowded penal facilities officially have room for 8,000 inmates, but actually house 13,000.

The appalling living conditions are a cause of the frequent riots which break out across the region, and a source of frustration for exasperated relatives.

“This is desperate, they won’t tell us anything and I think my husband is dead,” a crying Gregoria Zelaya told Canal 5 TV as she stood outside the prison.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesRelatives of inmates await outside the prison where at least 350 prisioners were killed and scores injured when fire overnight tore through the prison in central Honduras.

“My brother Roberto Mejia was in unit six,” said an emotional Glenda Mejia. “They’ve told me that the inmates from that unit are all dead,” she told AFP.

Next to her, Carlos Ramirez was waiting outside the facility for word about his brother Elwin, imprisoned on a murder conviction, who also was housed in unit six.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesRelatives of inmates awaiting outside the perimeter fence throw stones at soldiers and policemen on guard at the prison compound in Comayagua.

Officials here expressed sympathy with the relatives’ frustration, but urged them to be patient.

“We understand the pain of the families, but we have to follow a process under the law,” Security Minister Pompeyo Bonilla told local media.

“We call for calm. It is a very difficult situation,” he said.

Local firemen said they were prevented from entering the prison due to gunshots. But Daniel Orellana, head of the prison system, said there was no riot.

“We have two hypotheses, one is that a prisoner set fire to a mattress and the other one is that there was a short circuit in the electrical system,” he said.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesRelatives of inmates awaiting outside the perimeter fence throw stones at soldiers and policemen on guard, who fire warning shots into the air at the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras Wednesday.

Across Honduras, prisons are filled to double their capacity. More than 100 prisoners were killed in a fire in the textile manufacturing town of San Pedro Sula several years ago, and survivors said later that guards fired on prisoners trying to escape the fire.

ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty ImagesArmy soldiers advance to regain full control of the perimeter fence after relatives of the inmates throw stones at them, at the prison compound.

Honduras clocked more than 80 homicides per 100,000 people in 2009, a rate 16 times that of the United States, according to a United Nations report last year.

The country is also a major drug trafficking transit point for South American cocaine moving north to consumers in the United States and authorities say there is increasing presence of violent Mexican drug cartels in the country.

A political crisis ripped through Honduras in mid-2009 when a widely-condemned coup toppled the democratically elected president but the country has been trying to heal divisions since the election of President Porfirio Lobo later that year.

Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty ImagesFire engines stand by to enter the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras, on February 15, 2012.

With files from Reuters and AFP

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/15/hundreds-of-prisoners-die-in-massive-honduras-prison-fire/feed/24stdA wounded man is carried on a stretcher at Escuela hospital in the capital Tegucigalpa, after a blaze that began late on Tuesday night at a prison in Comayagua, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) north of the capital, February 15, 2012. A fire that swept through a prison in Honduras overnight has probably killed at least 357 people, the attorney general's office of the Central American nation said on Wednesday.Prison fireHonduras prisonRelatives of inmates awaiting outside the perimeter fence throw stones at soldiers and policemen on guard at the prison compound in Comayagua.Comayagua, HondurasComayagua, HondurasFire engines stand by to enter the National Prison compound in Comayagua, Honduras, on February 15, 2012.Canada faces Cuba next in World Cup qualifyinghttp://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/16/canada-faces-cuba-next-in-world-cup-qualifying/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/16/canada-faces-cuba-next-in-world-cup-qualifying/#commentsThu, 17 Nov 2011 04:15:54 +0000http://sports.nationalpost.com/?p=55978

The Canadian men’s soccer team will open the next phase of FIFA World Cup qualifying on the road.

CONCACAF announced the semi-final round schedule on Wednesday, with Canada opening up the six-game round-robin competition in Cuba on June 8, 2012.
That game could prove crucial to Canada’s chances as Cuba is the only squad in the four-team Group C ranked lower than Canada in the world rankings. The Cubans are 100th in the world, while the Canadians are 83rd.

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Canada’s first home game is June 12 against Honduras. Other home dates are Sept. 7 against Panama and Oct. 12 against Cuba. The Canadian Soccer Association hasn’t announced the location of the games, although all the matches in the last round were played at BMO Field in Toronto.

Canada’s other road matches in the next round are Sept. 11 in Panama and Oct. 16 in Honduras.

Panama is currently the highest-ranked team in the group at No. 53, but Honduras isn’t far behind at No. 57.

Canada beat Honduras 2-1 in a friendly in Montreal in 2010. Its most recent game against Panama ended in a 2-2 draw in Sunrise,Florida, in 2008. Canada hasn’t faced Cuba in an international match since winning a 2005 game in Foxboro, Massachusetts, by a 2-1 count.

The top two teams in the pool will move into the final stage of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. CONCACAF is guaranteed three berths into the tournament with a fourth team earning the right to a play-in home-and-home series against a team from the Oceania region.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/16/canada-faces-cuba-next-in-world-cup-qualifying/feed/0stdCanada celebrates a goal against St. Kitts and Nevis during its World Cup qualifying soccer match in Toronto.Canada's CONCACAF goal is more goalshttp://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/15/canadas-concacaf-goal-is-more-goals/
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TORONTO — With qualification to the next phase of CONCACAF’s 2014 World Cup qualifying secured, Canada’s men’s national soccer team has little to play for Tuesday night when it faces St. Kitts and Nevis at BMO Field. But head coach Stephen Hart insists his team still has a lot of important work to do; namely putting the ball into the net.

Despite having a number of scoring opportunities, Canada, ranked 83rd in the world, played to a 0-0 draw with 109th-ranked St. Kitts and Nevis 0-0 in Basseterre last Friday. It was the second straight scoreless draw for the Canadians, who were shut out at home by Puerto Rico, ranked 137th, October. Canada had scored 14 goals and conceded just one in their first three games of CONCACAF’s second qualification phase

“We have to be cleaner with our ball possession, and look to continue to create chances … and [remind the forward players] it is their job to [score],” Hart said Monday.

Canada needed just one point before last week’s game to finish atop Group D and advance to the next stage against Cuba, Honduras and Panama in June. Hart said his players were satisfied with simply attaining the single point and did not maintain control of the game.

“In the first half we played a decent game and we created some good chances and then, into the second half, [St.Kitts and Nevis] needed the game and they put us under pressure,” Hart said. “And when you don’t start with the right mentality, it is very hard to pick your game up all of a sudden. Next thing you know you’re on the back foot.

“But the way we ended in the last 10 minutes was positive and we should have scored at least three goals.”

The coach said his players knew immediately after the final whistle they were ineffective, and there are ongoing discussions between players and coaches about maintaining intensity and concentration in front of the net, especially since Canada will face more skilled opposition in the next phase.

Forward Simeon Jackson, who plays for Norwich City in the English Premier League and has four goals in qualifying, believes Canada needs to be persistent. The team is creating enough chances, and once one shot hits twine the flood gates will open.

“We just have to keep that up,” the 24-year-old said, “and use Tuesday’s game and all the games coming up to improve.”

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/15/canadas-concacaf-goal-is-more-goals/feed/0stdCanada was unable to score against Puerto Rico, ranked 137th in the world, in a draw in October.Canada advances in World Cup qualifyinghttp://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/11/canada-advances-in-world-cup-qualifying/
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It wasn’t pretty, but the Canadian men’s soccer team clinched a spot in the third round of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Friday.

Despite an underwhelming second consecutive scoreless draw, Canada picked up its 11th point in Group D qualifying to eliminate any hopes host St. Kitts and Nevis had of moving on. With the draw at Warner Park Football Stadium in the capital city of Basseterre, Canada improved its record to three wins and two draws.

“But we really didn’t perform well,’’ Canadian head coach Stephen Hart told Sportsnet at game’s end. “We didn’t pass the ball. We didn’t play well in the air. We gave them far too many opportunities to cross balls in the box.’’

A desperate St. Kitts side controlled play for much of the second half, helped by some scrambly play on Canada’s back end, including giving up three consecutive corner kicks with seven minutes remaining.

“We knew they needed the three points and that they would come out well in the second half,’’ Hart added. “We came here and we knew we had to get a point by playing a road style and we got that, so all in all we’re OK.”

St. Kitts and Nevis remains four points back of Canada, making Tuesday’s completion of the home-and-home series in Toronto meaningless.

Canada had earlier extinguished the Group D title hopes of both Puerto Rico and St. Lucia.

Also scheduled to take part in third-round CONCACAF qualifying are Jamaica, the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, Cuba and Honduras.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/11/canada-advances-in-world-cup-qualifying/feed/0stdCanada celebrates a goal during its win against St. Lucia in September.Canada tweaking game ahead of World Cup qualifiershttp://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/03/canada-tweaking-game-ahead-of-world-cup-qualifiers/
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As the Canadian men’s soccer team preys on weaker Caribbean clubs, assistant coach Tony Fonseca has one main message for his players: patience.

Canada, which plays in Saint Kitts and Nevis next Friday — with a return match in Toronto on Nov. 15 — is just one point from advancing to the third round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. And while Canada has managed 14 goals in four group games — three wins and a draw — it could not break down Puerto Rico, ranked 137th in the world, in a 0-0 draw in early October. Many of the lower-level island teams will park nine or 10 players around the penalty box.

“We are a little bit nervous on our final pass and obviously that is something we are trying to fix,” Fonseca said, “and it will take some time.

“Right now we are just addressing every game as it is and trying to correct it and give our players the necessary tools to perform. And obviously as they get exposed to different scenarios they will get better and they will improve.”

Injuries to captain Kevin McKenna, midfielder Atiba Hutchinson and forward Iain Hume have forced some tinkering to Canada’s roster for next week’s visit to Basseterre, but the 18-players on Canada’s squad — “the best possible roster,” according to Fonseca — are predominantly the same group that has put the world’s 83rd-ranked team at the top of its group with 10 points. St. Kitts and Nevis, ranked 109th, has seven points after a win and three draws in matches with St. Lucia and Puerto Rico.

Playing against Caribbean nations is always a challenge because there is a dearth of analysis on opponents and fields are typically shabby. Fonseca said he and head coach Stephen Hart are being careful with their planning.

“We have done some scouting and when we looked at the video [the field in Basseterre] looks OK, but we’ve gotten some feedback and people are saying that although it looks OK it is very bumpy and it will be a challenge,” Fonseca said. “St. Kitts and Nevis is a physical team, more physical [than any other team] in the group.”

Fonseca and Hart will rely on the skill of such experienced players as forwards Dwayne De Rosario, Simeon Jackson and Olivier Occean and midfielders Julian de Guzman and Will Johnson, but there is also an opportunity to give younger players — such as 19-year-oldmidfielder Matt Stinson and 20-year-old defender Ashtone Morgan, both of Toronto FC — some international exposure.

“It is a learning process,” Fonseca said. “It is great that we actually have a chance to play games like this because we can learn so much, and become stronger, and gain the experience necessary for later games.”

If Canada moves on to CONCACAF’s third round, it will have to finish in the top two of a group that includes Panama (ranked 53rd in the world), Honduras (57th) and Cuba (100th). That group stage begins next June and runs until October.

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrapped up his tour of Latin America on Friday by announcing that Canada has struck a free-trade deal with Honduras.

The development came as Mr. Harper visited the impoverished nation, where violence is common and the leftist president was deposed by a coup just two years ago.

Mr. Harper made the announcement after meeting with Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa.

“Our government received a strong mandate to implement our ambitious job-creating free-trade plan that will benefit Canadians,” Mr. Harper said.

“A free-trade agreement with Honduras is a key part of our government’s agenda to open new markets for Canadian businesses, create new opportunities for our workers and contribute to Canada’s future prosperity.”

Critics have said the Mr. Harper government is moving too quickly to provide credibility to the current right-wing Honduran regime at a time when the country is still suffering human-rights abuses, poor treatment of underpaid workers and a high crime rate.

But Mr. Harper applauded the current government for establishing a ministry dedicated to “justice and human rights” and for trying to learn the lessons of where it went wrong in its recent political coup.

“We strongly believe that prosperity, general and widespread, is essential to any nation’s full enjoyment of peace, freedom and democracy,” said Mr. Harper at a joint news conference with Sosa.

“And if prosperity is the key to these great objectives, so is trade the key to prosperity.”

Mr. Harper said the new trade agreement will benefit many Canadian workers and business sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing and mining.

“Our experience shows that the removal of barriers to trade is the most efficient tool that governments possess to generate growth and to create jobs.”

The agreement, which includes side agreements on labour standards and environmental protection, must now be ratified by Honduran politicians and by Canada’s Parliament.

In addition to his meeting with Lobo on Friday, Mr. Harper was scheduled to visit a textile manufacturing facility and hold a roundtable with businessmen.

Among the Canadian companies doing business in Honduras is Montreal-based Gildan, which produces products such as T-shirts and employs thousands of Hondurans.

In addition to putting the focus on a new trade deal, Mr. Harper came here with a clear objective: to help provide stability and international credibility to a country that has been plagued for years by political crisis and brutal criminal activity.

Mr. Harper’s visit is the first by a major foreign leader since Honduras was readmitted earlier this year into the Organization of American States.

It had been drummed out of the organization following the spectacle of its president, Manuel Zelaya, being ousted by the military in a 2009 coup.

He was forced to go to Costa Rica and, despite many efforts to return and regain his presidency, he failed.

At the time, Canada condemned the coup. However, in late 2009, another presidential election was held and Zelaya’s political rival — the current president — won.

Since then, Canada has moved to recognize his democratic bona fides, lobbying to have the country readmitted to the Organization of American States.

Canada appears to have been persuaded that the Honduran government, which appointed a Truth and Reconciliation commission to learn the lessons from the controversial coup, is on the right track.

Canadian officials say the Lobo government appears to be following the recommendations of that commission, which submitted its report recently, and is serious about battling human rights problems in the country.

On his trip to Latin America this week, Mr. Harper has dismissed critics who say he doesn’t care about the human-rights records of the countries he visits, such as Colombia. Rather, he says Canada is closely monitoring the issue and that economic prosperity, through enhanced international trade, is one of the best ways to bring a populace out of poverty and reduce human-rights violations.

“Travellers should exercise a high degree of caution throughout the country, as Honduras has the highest homicide rate in Central America. Growing poverty and the increased presence of street gangs contribute to an already significant crime rate, and the apprehension and conviction rate of criminals remains low.”

BOGOTA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched a spirited defence Wednesday of the new free-trade agreement with Colombia — saying that long-standing security risks in the country are improving, and opponents of the deal who cite human rights abuses are phonies who actually want to erect a protectionist trade wall.

“No good purpose is served in this country or in the United States by anybody who is standing in the way of the development of the prosperity of Colombia,” Mr. Harper said.

“Colombia is a wonderful country with great possibility and great ambition. And we need to be encouraging that every step of the way. That’s why we have made this a priority to get this deal done. We can’t block the progress of a country like this for protectionist reasons.”

Mr. Harper made the comments during a one day trip to the country where he met with President Juan Manuel Santos and emerged to hold a news conference promoting the new trade deal.

Concerns about the stability of the country — for both companies and their employees — is a central issue.

Colombia is slowly making progress toward political stability after decades of violence between left-wing revolutionary guerrillas, right-wing death squads and assorted drug warlords.

The free-trade deal was reached in 2008 and ratified by the Canadian Parliament a year ago, but only takes effect Aug. 15.

There are already more than 70 Canadian companies in Colombia in areas ranging from oil and mining to the financial sector. The trade deal is certain to encourage even more two-way trade and investment.

The Harper government says the agreement will produce significant trading benefits for both countries, although critics fear that not enough has been done to ensure labor protections for workers in the country that has been plagued for years by civil strife, human rights abuses, the drug trade and indiscriminate killings.

The deal comes amidst hopes that Colombia can turn the page on years on instability and crime, as the Santos government also moves ahead with improvements to human rights.

Still, the country’s long record of problems — fuelled by left-wing insurgents (including the FARC group) and right-wing paramilitary groups — seems far from over.

Earlier this week, the oil operations of a Canadian company in Colombia was attacked.

The military said that 30 FARC rebels were responsible, setting fire to an oil reservoir owned by a Canadian company identified as Alange Energy Corp.

Mr. Harper said the best way to help Colombia deal with problems such as this is to improve its economy through strong trade.

“This country, with a very troubled and tragic past has just made enormous strides through at least a couple of successive administrations to deal with human rights problems in very real and serious ways; to deal with broader development (and) poverty. And great progress is being made.”

Opposition to the trade deal has come from critics such as the federal NDP in Canada. Similarly, U.S. lawmakers have dragged their feet on approving a similar free-trade deal with Colombia, citing concerns over human rights.

But Mr. Harper scoffed at those concerns, calling them a phony excuse.

“I think there are protectionist forces in our country and in the United States that don’t care about development and prosperity in this part of the world. And that’s unfortunate.”

Mr. Harper said he will push the U.S. and other G8 nations to strike free-trade deals with Colombia.

For his part, Mr. Santos said his government has made “great progress” in solving many of the security problems that have dragged down his country.

“In some remote areas, terrorists are at work,” Mr. Santos said. “In a way, they are desperate but they are not defeated . . . . We are aware of the issue.”

Mr. Harper said he had discussed concerns about security with Mr. Santos, government officials and Canadian companies doing business in Colombia. He said he is convinced that the dangers that once faced foreign companies are diminishing.

Chris Spaulding, of Talisman Energy, a Canadian company doing business in Colombia’s oil sector, concurred.

“There’s obviously some security issues that have occurred of late. But you have to look at this over the long term.”

Just a few years ago, Canadian companies such as his couldn’t enter Colombia to explore, develop and produce oil because of the security risks.

Now, he says, there are fewer attacks.

“These are bad people in isolated places trying to do bad things and they’re difficult to get to. The government recognizes that. The government is doing everything that it can to provide the security. It knows it has that responsibility.”

Mr. Spaulding said Colombia is a good place to do business.

“Its very business friendly. They want foreign investment. The labor force is very good. The resources are there.”

NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar says that while “side agreements” were prepared to supposedly protect the environment and the rights of workers, they will likely amount to nothing more than political optics.

“I suspect we will have people busily writing reports as bureaucrats. But it won’t amount to a lot because they are side agreements and they won’t be very enforceable.”

Also on Mr. Harper’s schedule later this week are visits to the Central American nations of Costa Rica and Honduras, where he will promote improved trade and discuss with political leaders the deteriorating security conditions in the region as transnational organized crime poses an increasingly larger threat.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — A Canadian was among 14 people killed when a plane crashed into a hillside shortly before landing in Honduras this week.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Tuesday that a Canadian was killed, but would not comment further, citing privacy issues.

The BBC initially reported that one Canadian and two Americans were killed in the Honduras crash that also reportedly claimed the lives of that country’s transport minister and a prominent union leader.

The BBC reported the area near the capital of Tegucigalpa is dangerous for flights because of a short runway and dated navigation equipment.

Officials have recovered the bullet-riddled body of a Canadian man who was shot to death by pirates in Honduras.

Milan Egrmajer, 58, and his daughter Myda Egrmajer, 24, had been cruising the Caribbean Sea when bad weather forced them to take shelter in a lagoon near the northern town of Tela on Thursday.

Pirates boarded the ship last week and shot Milan four times, while Myda hid.

Milan’s body has since been recovered from his sailboat, which lay capsized off the Honduran coast.

A Canadian consul for Honduras was present as officials recovered Egrmajer’s body, reported La Prensa newspaper, although Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Laura Markle could not confirm this or any details concerning Myda’s return to Canada, citing privacy concerns.

Mr. Egrmajer’s body is being transferred to the morgue in San Pedro Sula before repatriation, according to the newspaper.

Abelino Gomez, head of the country’s National Office of Criminal Investigation, told La Prensa newspaper Sunday that pirates looted the vessel of food, electronics and money.

Eric van Riesen, Myda’s cousin, said she managed to frighten the pirates off by firing a flare gun.

“She’s a brave girl,” said Mr. van Riesen.

Myda was stranded alone, and with no previous sailing experience, she endured hours of terror in seas so heavy that, according to Nelson Varela, commander of the naval base of La Ceiba, the Honduran navy did not dare attempt a rescue, La Prensa reported.

Despite a series of frantic 911 calls and Myda’s flare on Thursday, no help arrived until Friday morning, when a passing vessel rescued her, taking her to Belize, Mr. van Riesen said.

Mr. van Riesen said he wondered why a civilian vessel was able to save Myda, while rescue vessels were not.

“Here’s a girl who has seen her dad murdered, and spent hours waiting for Honduran officials to rescue her, and they say ‘We can’t get there because of bad weather.’”

Milan had embarked on his dream trip, a cruise along the coast of North America, in July 2008. Myda had joined her father only a few weeks ago.